Seeing Green
by Adorkablelinkk
Summary: Edward just wanted to do get through high school, and be able to take care of Al and himself. Get a nice job, marry a nice girl, and maybe have some nice kids too. The rain washed away the "perfect" dream, and now all he can see is green. Envy x Ed
1. RainWashed

This is my first story on . I was "inspired" (begged) by a friend to write an Envy/Ed fanfiction, so I decided to try my hand at it. Compared to some writers (ex: The people who wrote "Chasing Naruto" or "Smile" – two Narusasu fanfictions that have blown my mind and are absolutely perfect), I know my writing style may be kind of young and amateur-like, because I assure you, I usually am no writer. I've written a few stories, but aside from that, I generally am not an amazing, mind-numbing writer. I do want constructive criticism from people. Yes… that would be very much appreciated. Sorry about plaguing the beginning of this story with boring, serious paragraph about things you probably don't care about, so I'll shut up now. (P.S., If you bother to review, I'll do what some writers to and respond to you in the next chapter)

**Disclaimer: If I owned FMA, Ed and Al would have never been separated anytime within any one of the animes or the manga, Ed would NEVER grow taller, at the end of the manga, all the milk would be thrown off a cliff, and Roy would repeatedly exclaim that Ed was far more superior than him in every way possible, especially looks and skills. **

**Chapter One: Rain-washed**

I groaned in frustration as the freezing water droplets sapped away from my heated flesh, plastering my blonde bangs to the sides of my face. I hate rain. No matter how much people seem to be overjoyed at the devious downpour, it did nothing but put me in a foul mood, especially at nine in the freaking morning. Why was I running home so early on a school day? It was my little brother. I had gotten a text from his best friend, Fletcher, saying that Al was sent home sick. It didn't take me long to just bolt out the door to dash home.

Al means pretty much everything to me, and I get really distraught when anything happens to him. Even if it's just a cold, I know worse can come from a cold. Therefore, I am forced to grudgingly take myself home through the frozen pelts.

I usually took the train to and from school, since home was further from my school than Al's (who goes to a special institute for artistically gifted kids), but the heavy rain had stopped all of them. I actually don't really know the way by foot, since I only had walked home a couple of times, but I figured I could just go off basic memory.

To my left, I saw the park that the train passed by every morning, the one that I had only ever stared at. It was a beautiful park, but I wasn't really a green person, and there was way too much green in the park to my liking. I get the trees and grass and stuff, but painting the playground, water fountains, and benches green just pushed it too far over the edge for me.

I hadn't even gone maybe five steps past the park gate before tripping over something hard and thin.

"Gaaah!" I half-yelled as my balance failed and my entire frame collide with the concrete. Sitting up and rubbing my knees, that were the sorest upon the contact, I realized it wasn't a branch like I had expected, but a person. His dark blue, almost black, sweater was soaked through, as well as his jeans and, generally, him. I could hear his labored, harsh breathing, and feel the warm, clammy sweat – or maybe it was rain – that had gathered on his skin. Wispy flickers of long hair stuck to his skin, covering nearly is entire face. I moved it out of the way, jumping when I saw him open his eyes and speak. It wasn't the fact that he had woken up that surprised me, but his features.

His hair was dark, forest-green color, and his eyes, an astonishing violet.

"Mmmm..." he mumbled, eyes flitting between closed and half-open.

Shit.

"Envy..." I whispered quietly. There was no way I could take him home now. He was my _enemy_; my _rival_. I hate him, even more than the rain. Just recognizing him gave me a sickening feeling in my stomach that urged me strongly to go to the nearest trash can and empty it of the now repulsive contents of this morning's meal.

But I couldn't leave him to die of pneumonia or who knows what in this weather. My inner selves were battling with each other. I didn't like them. They were always in disagreement.

_ 'You have to help him, Ed.' _the honey-sweet voice, Delight, said. The perfect little angel was always trying to do the right thing. He was wearing the pure white outfit that he usually had on, his crooked halo seeming to radiate disappointment.

Of course, the other one, Debauchery, objected. The one who wore the dark, long black hoodie that looked like it came from a member of Organization XIII from the Kingdom Hearts video game. He always had a mischievous, evil glint in his eyes, and his grin seemed innocent, but unnerving. _'And why should he do that, stupid? Have you forgotten that he and Envy are rivals? That they HATE each other? That Envy probably would just laugh and leave Ed if the scenario was switched around? Psh. And you're supposed to be smart.'_he sneered mockingly. He was mean. Very mean.

They argued in my head, minutes passing as I found myself drawn to one solution, and then yanked back to the other. Finally, my favorite inner self came out, the one who I almost never failed to agree with. Equilibrium. Honestly, if you're wondering about their names, I didn't come up with them. They were all completely set on naming themselves, and I didn't even know_ they_ could to that. If it were up to me, they would be named nice Ed, evil Ed, and meh Ed. But it wasn't. I shortened the other two's names to Dee and E.Q., but Debauchery refused to be called anything except Debauchery. He had made that VERY clear. Unlike the other two, E.Q. was more of the neutral "I don't really care, just shut up and pick something" type. He usually came up with answers that were sort of like a half-mix of the other two. He looked cooler too. He had heavy red and black platform boots, leather pants and a tight tank top, covered by a black mini-jacket. His coolest part was his coat: a bad-ass red coat that had a sick cross-snake symbol on the back. _'Geez, will you guys quit arguing? You're breaking my eardrums here.'_

The other two groaned. They knew I would probably go with whatever E.Q. said.

_ 'Hey,'_ he said, directing his attention to me. Well, sort of just talking to the air in my head since he WAS my inner self. _'Why not, instead of taking him to your house, you put him in a drier spot, like under a tree or something? Then you can cover him with the jacket that you had forgotten about in your backpack since it's the only dry thing that you have. Then you won't have him dying from the cold and left out on the rain, but you don't have to take him with you.'_

And of course, I did just that, dragging him to the nearest mass of trees that were surprisingly dry and kind of warm underneath. I took off his sopping wet sweater and replaced it with my red one that had the same symbol E.Q.'s had on the back. It was my favorite jacket, but if E.Q. had said to let Envy use it, I wasn't going to complain.

I got up and left. I hadn't noticed the half-lidded, violet gaze staring at my retreating form.

* * *

><p>"AL!" I yelled as I tumbled through the door of our apartment.<p>

_ 'Be quiet!'_ Dee reprimanded. _'Alphonse might be sleeping!'_

The other two, even Debauchery, agreed. They always did whenever it came to the best for Al. The only time they got along was when they were talking about Alphonse. I immediately clapped my hand over my mouth, not by my will, but because E.Q. had taken over and forced me to do it. That's another reason I hate my inner selves. They can CONTROL me: legit moving my mouth and limbs and everything. It freaks me out. Al says I have multiple personalities, but I swear up and down that I'm the one in complete power, seeing as I usually had enough strength to overpower a large amount of their attempts. Debauchery didn't take that well, and had tortured me with cruel, painful nightmares to nearly a week. I shuddered at the oppressive memory and willed it away.

"Alright, alright!" I whispered frantically. It felt weird whenever they decided to take over. "Just stop doing... You know! Stop doing that! I HATE it!"

I sluggishly trudged my wet self over to the bathroom next to me and Al's room, kicked off my shoes by my door, and hopped into the shower. It felt good to slip out of the heavy clothing, and even more heavenly as the lukewarm water fell on me, clouds of steam blanketing the air, a thick hazy coat.

My thoughts kept going back to Envy, plaguing the blissful feeling that had begun to come over me. I felt a bit... not guilty... but just... iffy. I felt iffy about leaving him out there in the park. I  
>guess it was that really lenient part of me. The part that completely disregarded that I loathed every cell in Envy's body and pretty much everything connected to him in a positive manner. I sighed, suddenly feeling very exhausted, but I knew I couldn't rest yet. I had to check on Al.<p>

I wrapped a towel around my waist, knowing that besides Al, it was just me. Our mom had died when we were young, Al was five, and I was six. Eleven years without her, and we are still more attached to her than to Hoenheim. Hoenheim is our_ father_, but I don't care. He's a bastard. He's home maybe five days a year: Christmas, my birthday, Al's birthday, Mom's death anniversary (I would probably kill him if he missed the last two), and one extra day if we're lucky.

Stepping into the room, I was kind of surprised to see Al, perfectly fine -a little red, but otherwise fine- sitting on his bed sketching. "Al?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Weren't you sent home because you were sick? Like dying in bed sick?"

Al didn't react to me being home. He had probably expected it. "Did you hear that from Fletcher? He probably exaggerated too much." he shrugged, sending me a pathetic half-assed wave without even glancing my way.

I groaned inside. I had forgotten that Fletcher goes to a creative writing program at Al's school. He once made the sentence "I peeled a banana." into an excruciating story of pain and agony on the banana's behalf. I probably should have only read the first sentence of his detailed ten page text of how Al was doing. "I hate your best friend." I stated.

"How?" Al questioned. "He's your best friend's little brother, and he's a lot nicer that Russell. Plus, I get along with Fletcher way better than you do with Russell."

I scoffed at that. Sure Russell and I didn't exactly have the perfect best-friend bromance going on, seeing as we were both too "stubborn and proud" as Al had put it, but we had a system. We understood each other in odd ways and got along fine seeing as we were both interested in science due to our fathers' careers. We weren't a normal pair, but at least we covered for each other.

_ 'You two are cute best friends!'_Dee chimed. He sounds so much like a girl when he gets all gushy and angelic. Winry and Al keep making fun of Dee, calling him my inner "feminine" side. I ignored his comment. Russell and I were far from "cute" when it involved the both of us. There was arguing, fighting, yelling, teasing, mocking, and the list just goes on and on.

"Well instead of the really long and detailed text, he could have just said, 'Al was sent home sick'." I growled. "I ditched class to come home and find you perfectly okay?" I playfully punched his arm. He laughed, knowing I wasn't serious, and ran his hand through his short  
>light-honey brown hair.<p>

"Yeah right!" he scoffed teasingly. "Like I even want you here anyway!"

I grinned. I love Al more than anything in the whole world. I know it sounds childish, but I don't know what I would do if I didn't have Al. He's my little brother. We spent the rest of the day talking, watching TV, eating, and overall being lazy. After I went and picked up some medicine for him at the nearby pharmacy, we ate dinner and went to bed. Depending on how Al felt tomorrow, we would see if we have to go to school or not.

I looked at the large window between me and Al's beds. It was still pouring, even more heavily, if possible, than it had been in the morning. My thoughts returned to Envy. I fell asleep staring at the clear raindrops in the window, but all I saw was green.


	2. Lucky

**Warnings: Language, Violence, and for future references, Shounen-ai.**

**Disclaimer: In two days time, the underground tunnel from Hiromu Arakawa's house to mine shall be complete, and Ed and I will be able to live happily ever after together. **

**Chapter Two: Lucky**

"**We all dream a lot – some are lucky, some are not. But if you think it, want it, dream it, then it's real. You are what you feel." ~ Tim Rice**

"Brother!" Al yelled, jumping on me. "Get up, get up, get up!" he emphasized each word with fists of terror pounding into my back.

"Uuugh…" I groaned sleepily, slightly aggravated. My voice slurred as I spoke. "Get off o' me Al… Go away…."

Al dragged me off the bed and onto the floor before running back out to the kitchen.

I pulled myself walked over to our closet. Feeling lazy, I grabbed whatever clothes were on top and didn't bother with actually dressing up like I usually did. I shrugged the loose black shirt over my head and pulled on the pair of faded jeans in my hands. They must have been old, because they were kind of tight, and I literally had to jump to get them on. I could have just changed the pants... but that would require opening the closet.

I ran my fingers through the knots in my hair, cursing myself for growing it long again, even though I knew I wouldn't have the heart to cut it. Pulling it into a messy braid as I finished getting ready, I headed downstairs to join Al in the kitchen.

If I play the protective, strong big brother role, then Al's taken it upon himself to be the "mother" around here. He does the cleaning, cooking, and usually, scolding. (No matter how much I tell him that he shouldn't be reprimanding his OLDER brother). He does a phenomenal job at cooking, better than me at least. It was decided long ago that it isn't safe for me to be within a certain distance of the kitchen while something is cooking, or the stove is on, and sometimes, maybe even the microwave. That incident hadn't been pretty...

The aroma in the kitchen was heavenly, and I sat down, waiting for Al to do the same. I had been a relatively chipper mood lately, probably due to the fact that since Envy wasn't at school on Thursday or Friday, there was no having to deal with him. Not that _I_ have any idea why he didn't come to school. Apparently he's sick. Hmmm. Too bad for him. Al chatted endlessly about what he and Fletcher are doing for their big English project and some other things. I just grinned and nodded, commenting on how great he's doing and that he tries so hard. Occasionally I'll tease him until he gets mad and flustered and we'll both just laugh it off after a few minutes.

I don't tell Al that I get into trouble and fights during school, I just keep saying everything's going fine and it's just great. I think he probably has suspicions seeing as no matter how hard I try I can't keep anything from him, but he knows I can take care of myself.

Eventually, we finished eating just as an annoying, familiar honk was heard just outside of our apartment building. Al scrambled out of his seat and made a mad-dash to the bedroom, where all his school books and his backpack took refuge. He bolted back down, a coat unceremoniously shoved under one arm and his bag tucked under the other. After a quick one-armed hug to me he was out the door and in Fletcher's mom's car in less than ten seconds. I took my time. The train station was just around the corner, and wouldn't be arriving for another ten minutes.

Essentially bored of the plainness of our apartment, I decided that there was enough time for me to walk to school if I left right now. It would probably be more entertaining than staring out a train window.

The walk to school was kind of fun. Halfway there, I heard a shout toward me at the little gambling stand after the park. It may sound like a stupid idea, but the old man made a lot of money off of it.

"Hey kid!" the cheerful, balding man called. "Why dontcha try a round?" he grinned suspiciously. I looked at the different types of games he had, and no doubt, they were all type that one skilled enough could easily swindle many people several times. I'm fairly good at seeing through deception though. I chose the simplest, most common one - guessing which cup the rock was under. People are usually stupid and naive when it comes to this game, and they don't watch carefully enough.

'_I'm gonna get this right!'_ Dee exclaimed. Dee is exactly the type of 'person' that would lose one hundred put of one hundred times.

We all - through my eyes - stared as he started moving the cups around.

'_It's in the left one._' Debauchery stated.

Dee huffed loudly. '_No it's not! It's in the right one, I know it!_'

I sighed in my mind. '_Deception, Dee. Deception._' I said. '_I agree with Debauchery. The guy switched the rock at least four times._'

Debauchery did his own edition of a happy dance, but it honestly just looked like some sort of creepy sacrifice ritual.

"It's in the left cup," I replied to the man, who was already looking at me strangely. "Or, one of the rocks is in the left cup. The others are up your sleeves."

He laughed out loud. "Well, whaddya know? Some kid actually knows his stuff! Congratulations, you just won yourself ten bucks!"

Despite the fact that I usually can't stand people who play in such a foul, cheating way, I found myself grinning smugly back at him before resuming my trek to Central High. And even AFTER that I was still smiling like some happy-go-lucky air-head.

"Haha!" I laughed. "Today just might be my lucky day!"

* * *

><p>As I got closer to the small, deserted tree in the corner of the schoolyard, I was approached by a freak-giant teen (the guy skipped a grade, but you never would have guessed he was a year older than me) who happened to be my best friend, Russell.<p>

He smiled mockingly, his annoyingly perfect teeth blinding me. Before saying anything, he flipped his chestnut colored hair in a dramatic motion. "Say, I hear Envy's on the prowl for a certain blonde-haired, friendless loser." He smirked.

"Oh?' I questioned nonchalantly. "What did you do to the walking palm tree this time, Russ?" I mocked.

He just gave me a devious smile, and I my left eye twitched in suppressed foreseen anger. "Oh, sorry, I meant to say Envy's looking for a certain blonde-haired, SHORT, friendless loser." He put emphasis on the "s" word.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A RUNT SO TINY THAT HE CAN ONLY BE SEEN WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS, YOU JERK!" I screamed.

Russell had clapped his hands over his ears in an attempt to tune me out, but he still had that god-damned smirk on his face. "Well, now that you mentioned it…" He didn't finish. I punched him in his face, and stalked away.

I made my way to my locker, stomping angrily. The entire hallway was deserted, and I vaguely wondered why, but an announcement over the intercom soon answered my silent question.

"Hello there students of Central High," The cheesy, static voice screeched. "I would like to remind you all that there will be a special pep rally show today during your first four periods, so please report to the gymnasium at this time. I repeat, there will be a special pep rally show today during periods one through four, so students not already there, please report to the gymnasium at this time."

Now I remember. They had said something about it last Friday, but I had been too busy reading; stupid science book, always being so distracting. I heard a low chuckle behind me, and my body instantly tensed and became more rigid as the smooth voice spoke.

"Oh there you are o'chibi-chan." The slightly higher pitched, male voice drawled out the "chan", and I turned around slowly, resisting the temptation to blow up in another rant. If _he_ had been searching for me all morning, no doubt when _he_ found me it wasn't going to turn out nice. _His_ face seemed playful, but his eyes had an almost deadly intent. I was still frozen, hand placed on the forgotten, un-opened lock.

Envy stepped closer to me, and I sub-consciously backed away. Normally, I wouldn't be caught dead running from a fight, but I had promised Al that I would at least try… He shoved me against the lockers with brute strength that definitely wasn't apparent in his build. He stared for a moment, now cold and serious. "You probably already know this, but I wasn't at school last Thursday or Friday. Unfortunately, I was out _sick_ those two days _and _over the weekend." He spat in my face, and his fingers clutched tightly around the collar of my shirt. "And maybe it was just me hallucinating, but I do recall someone leaving me out in the terrible fucking weather, ne? Someone who looked like a familiar, golden-haired chibi?" He pulled his grasp back a little, almost choking me.

I glared at him. That was two times too many already. "Don't fucking call me short, you ugly walking palm-tree." I growled, undisguised anger seeping out in my voice. I was so sick and tired of him and his ego thinking he could be so superior over me.

'_Don't start a fight you might not be able to win!_' Dee scolded. '_You should just run away!_'

Debauchery scoffed, his maniacal grin seeming even more malicious than Envy's. '_Shut up, Dee. If the boy wants to fight, then let him fight. I'm sure he can take care of himself. Besides, it'll probably be entertaining, if not amusing._' He crossed his arms, a smug look gracing his features.

E.Q. just sat in the corner, obviously not interested in anything that had to do with Envy anymore. He rarely said anything nowadays. It was a bit odd.

I directed my attention to Dee, '_For the second time today, I'm agreeing with Debauchery._' I thought, and locked them up deep in my mind. Focusing on what was in front of me now, my eyes met the top of Envy's head. He had leaned down so that we were eye-level, but after that comment, he had grown unnaturally quiet. His slight trembling went unnoticed by me.

His head slowly lifted back up, and revealed a face that was none too pleasant. His eyes had grown wide and feral, and his mouth was twisted into some odd line that gave off an angry appearance. "You think I'm _ugly_?" He snarled, pulling me back and throwing me onto the floor. I groaned as my back painfully made contact with the tiled floor.

Envy leapt at me, but there was no way I was just going to sit there and take a beating like some weak little pansy. I twisted to my right, smirking as he repeated the action that had just taken place to me barely a few seconds ago. I turned so that we were both facing each other lying down and kicked him straight in his gut, sending him to the opposite wall. Taking the initiative to stand up, I lunged toward the crippled form. I hadn't expected for him to recover so quickly, seeing as I had hit him with my prosthetic, but he flew out of the way, taking hold of the scruff of my neck in the process. I found myself flying a few feet down the hall, the lockers resembling blue blurs beside me.

He jumped after me, attempting to pin me, but ultimately failing. I wrapped my legs around his hips and used force and momentum to reverse our positions. I wouldn't let myself lose this round. I would get shit from all the jerks in this school if they knew. We tousled like that, both trying to win dominance and pin the other down. There was no punching or kicking, and the actual fight had only lasted maybe a thirty seconds long. Now we were in it to win; just prove who the stronger person _really_ is. We didn't get to. We were interrupted.

"Now, what the hell is going on here?"

Fuck. Today is _NOT_ my lucky day.

* * *

><p><strong>So I decided to put my authors note at the end now, because I really would like to get straight to the point in the beginning. As you probably saw, they didn't really "fight." It was more a scuffle than anything. I promise that in a later chapter, you'll get to see a better-written, cool fight scene with detail. <strong>

**Anyway, I'm not going to blackmail you into reviewing, but REVIEW PLEASE. They make me happy (I'm actually pretty content with seeing the number of visitors go up, and literally danced like an idiot when I got ONE review. I was ecstatic. But that's the mind of a simpleton there, so help me out and review?) Oh, and if you see any (or multiple) spelling, grammar, punctuation, or downright just bad writing, don't hesitate to tell me. I'll embrace all your comments like rainbow sprinkles on vanilla ice cream. c:**

**~ Adorkablelinkk**


	3. Mystery

**Warnings: Language, shounen ai (suggestive comments really), EnvyxEd, **

**Disclaimer: I have finished my tunnel. Now to search Hiromu Arakawa's house… Oh Chibi-chan~~ Where are you, my love?**

**Chapter Three: Mystery**

"**We're all damaged in our own way. Nobody's perfect. I think we are all somewhat screwy, every single one of us." ~ Johnny Depp**

_He jumped after me, attempting to pin me, but ultimately failing. I wrapped my legs around his hips and used force and momentum to reverse our positions. I wouldn't let myself lose this round. I would get shit from all the jerks in this school if they knew. We tousled like that, both trying to win dominance and pin the other down. There was no punching or kicking, and the actual fight had only lasted maybe a thirty seconds long. Now we were in it to win; just prove who the stronger person really is. We didn't get to. We were interrupted._

"_Now, what the hell is going on here?"_

_Fuck. Today is NOT my lucky day._

* * *

><p>Envy froze, and I was able to force his arms above his head on the ground, winning the battle. I saw that he wasn't looking at me, or better yet, barely even acknowledging I was there anymore. He was staring at the person who had interrupted us, his eyes wide and slightly fearful. I stilled also, moving slightly so that my legs straddled his hips incase he snapped out of his daze anytime soon and decided to attack me. I was a bit confused. I had never seen Envy look <em>scared <em>before. I too diverted my attention to where the deep voice had come from.

What I was expecting was that a teacher had come, and we were going to get in trouble, but one look at this man told me that he wasn't a teacher. To be honest, he looked like the leader of a gang or something, with his tight leather pants and odd vest that had fur all around the collar. His teeth were pointy and sharp, as if they belonged on a shark rather than a human, and his eyes were hidden behind small, round sunglasses. He ran his hands through his hair, but it did little to smooth down the spiky edges.

Envy's face hardened and he glared at the intruder with utmost hate evident. "Greed," He acknowledged harshly, "What are you doing _here_?"

The 'Greed' person laughed heartily, obviously oblivious to Envy's anger, "Now, now, Envy," he said. "I just came to visit you in your little school. Although I seem to have caught you in a rather… compromising position, am I wrong?" He grinned suggestively. Envy lost his angry expression, and seemed to gain a similar look on his face.

I looked between the two of them, aggravation and confusion at being left out clear in my expression. Envy's smile reminded me of the suspicious look that the man at the gambler stand had given me. He leaned up as far as he could with his hands bound above his head, and his mouth was close to my ear. "Hey chibi-chan, I'm just going to tell you now," He giggled and whispered in my ear, "I prefer top."

I blinked, then glowed bright red and scrambled off of him. He got up, smirking, and went to go talk to the other man. When they started talking in hushed whispers, he looked upset and serious again, and it seemed as if the two had forgotten about me, the little blonde boy sitting on the ground. Envy hadn't. He turned around and glared at me. "Edward," I think this was one of the rare times where he actually used my name. I jumped, surprised. "You're lucky Greed came here. Don't think because I went easy on you that this changes anything between us. It just means that I was amused and didn't particularly feel like beating the living hell out of some short nobody." He said with a glare.

Fighting down the familiar urge to snap at the height reference and not finding the strength to do anything else, I nodded. Just as they turned around the corner of the hall, the bell signaling the end of first period rang. Of course, since the pep rally was until fourth period, nobody came out into the hallway. I doubt anyone even heard it, seeing how loud our pep rallies got. I suddenly didn't feel like going to it anymore. All that went on was deafening screaming, stupid games, and bad singing. It was pointless, and in my opinion, only made our school sports sections lose more and more every year.

I stood up, thinking to go to the same tree that Russell and I had met by this morning, but a sharp stinging up my spine quickly put me back down. Damn, I must have hit it harder than I thought. No doubt it was going to bruise. I did a fast check to see if any other place was hurt, and thankfully, there was no pain anywhere else. Using the lockers as support, I pulled myself up.

"Uuuuugh…" I groaned at the feeling, however, I managed to deal with it and limped over to the designated resting spot. When I got there, I collapsed on the ground, and fatigue washed over me. Just like that, I fell asleep, and the rest of the world melted away.

* * *

><p>I rubbed my eyes sluggishly, still tired from my morning nap. Surprisingly, it was still quiet. Wondering vaguely if the pep rally was still going on, I checked my watch. Hmm… it's only eleven twenty… No big deal…<p>

"SHIT!" I jumped up, ignoring the back issues and bolted to the school building. "Shit, shit, SHIT!" I screamed as I ran down the hallway where my fifth period class was located. Fifth period started at eleven oh two, and now, I was late. Again.

Finally, I reached the class room and tugged the door open. It cracked against the wall with a repulsive noise that resonated throughout the small room. The man at the front stopped as the noise rang out, finger still pointing to some place on the world map attached to the top of the board. He turned towards me and I immediately looked down.

"Mr. Elric," He said quietly. He was an old man who was already bald everywhere except for his upper lip and chin, and he sported what has got to be the longest beard in the world. His raspy voice was kind of unpleasant to listen to, especially whenever he did lectures. "May I ask why you are late to my class again?"

I nervously tugged at the sleeves on my upper arm, racking my brain for an excuse. "I fell asleep while I was reading my history book. You know how boring ten thousand years of AP World History could get, right sir?" I answered, thinking that maybe if it had something to do with learning I might get away with it.

He frowned, eyebrows creasing. "You were late to your history class because you fell asleep reading your boring history textbook?" he asked, disappointment and hardly concealed annoyance apparent in his voice. There was a snicker from someone all the way in the back, and I turned to find Roy Mustang and his friends watching the scene in amusement.

In other words, it was some of the people in Envy's group, minus Envy, mocking me. They weren't always "Envy's group", in fact, most of them used to be close friends of mine. In middle school, we always hung out, and were pretty close. I mean, they were still nice to me now, and you could even say that compared to freshmen year we were on the level of friends again, but we still didn't have as good as a connection as we did years ago. The only one that probably completely turned on me was Roy. Yes, the pompous Roy Mustang just up and turned into a complete bastard. I don't know why the transition from middle school to high school made them suddenly drop me for the popular Envy, seeing as we all hated him in our earlier years, but I do know that the only people I was left with in the school was Winry and Russell.

I glared at them before giving the teacher my attention again. "Yeah…" I sighed, knowing where this conversation was going.

He took out a small pink slip from the top drawer of his desk, messily scrawled my name across the top, and handed it to me. "Detention," he said, "This Friday after school. I will also be phoning your house to tell your parents about you being tardy to my class so many times." You would think the bastard old man would be a bit more considerate about peoples' families. "Now, take a seat."

He dismissed me, and I inched toward my seat near the window in the middle of the room. As soon as I sat down, Russell poked me in the back with his pencil. I hissed quietly and scooted forward. Just because my back was feeling a little better didn't mean it doesn't still hurt.

"Where were you?" He whispered. "I didn't see you at the pep rally, and obviously, you're late to fifth period."

I took out a piece of paper, not wanting to get in trouble again just for talking and wrote '_I got into a fight with Envy this morning. You should know why, Russell. Then I just skipped the pep rally and accidentally overslept.' _I tossed it back to him, and it landed neatly in the center of his book. He just nodded in understanding that I didn't know he had. I had expected him to make some sort of rude or sarcastic remark, but he didn't. Lucky for him, Debauchery had that covered.

'_Yeah,_' he said, '_Just a fight. I'll bet you guys were enjoying the rough play._' He smirked as my face flushed for the third time that day.

'_Shut up,_' I thought.

The rest of the day felt like it passed by faster than this morning had, and I couldn't help but notice that Envy hadn't shown up for the last three periods of the day. I felt a bit odd when he left with that man, although I don't know why.

After school, instead of walking with me to the train, Russell had told me that he had to pick up some groceries for his mom, and I ended up going alone. It was a very large understatement to say that the train ride was annoying. It was irritating, aggravating even. I had let some of the little concern I had about the disappearance of Envy slip into my mind, and the information was just devoured by the two.

'_Aaaaw, look at this,_' Debauchery cooed, '_little Edo's got a crush._' He grinned evilly as I mentally glared at him.

Dee smiled innocently. '_I think it's rather cute. Envy is a good looking male, you know'_ He chirped, and Debauchery burst out laughing.

I started choking, as in, literally hacking my lungs for air. Some of the other passengers gave me weird looks, but I disregarded them completely as I clutched the dark blue handle of the seat next to me to keep my balance. '_Envy?'_ I asked incredulously when I was finally able to breathe again. '_You must be kidding me right? As if I would ever like, let alone tolerate, HIM._' I stated.

Dee just kept beaming and Debauchery gave a smirk that I probably should have been more suspicious of. '_Hey,_' I asked, '_do either of you know where E.Q. went?_'

They both shook their heads. '_I haven't seen him since after the fight this morning._' Dee answered.

Debauchery also answered, but more sarcastically. '_Maybe he's on his period and doesn't want to deal with us?_'

I did what my better judgment told me to do, and ignored him. Instead, I stopped the conversation with them and opted for staring out the window. We were passing by the green park again. I never did know the name, even if I saw it every day. It was always just the park. Maybe someday I'll find out. Subconsciously, my eyes wandered back to the spot where I had been just barely a few days ago. Maybe it was just a trick of the light or the reflection of the window, but I thought I had seen a familiar palm-tree looking hair-do and slim build, and the park seemed just a little bit greener today.

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><p><strong>I'm so sorry for taking so long to update, it just for some reason, took me FOREVER to write this. I kept getting distracted. . I thought I was going to end up hating this chapter, but I actually kind of find it ok. :D <strong>

**Horrible? Okay? Good? Bad? Has way too many grammatical/punctuation/other errors? Review please. :3 Oh yeah, chapter two got SEVEN reviews, and honestly, I almost cried. Gosh, you people are so awesome, and are a lot of fun to talk to. Literally, I danced around like an idiot and started giggling randomly when I saw I had a total of ten reviews. It's not really a lot compared to some writers, but I feel loved. I'll shut up now, so HAPPY READING. 3**

**~ Adorkablelinkk**


	4. The birthday present

**Warnings: Character death, Language, **

**Disclaimer: After one day in Hiromu Arakawa's lovely home, I had finally found my wonderful Edo-chan 3 However, a certain **_**somebody**_** found out, and she separated us again. T-T Even worse, she had my tunnel filled with cement. Alas, because of that, I have been moping for the past week and a half, the will to write having left me entirely during that time. **

**Chapter Four: The birthday present**

"**Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, then it must be accepted.****" ~ Sadly, I know not the maker of this lovely quote. **

The loud music and immensely annoying chatter of different individuals buzzed through my eardrums, nearly making me deaf in the process. I shoved a gloved finger into each ear, a vain attempt to drown out the surrounding noise. Worming my way through the flow of people swarming in front of different shops, I finally managed to reach the one place that I deemed my destination the minute I stepped into the universe of shopping, bargains, shouts, and discounts. This was the reason I hated the mall. It was overcrowded with sweaty, screeching human beings that shoved each other and instantly became monstrous fat-asses at the large food court.

'_I'm only here for one reason,'_ I reminded myself.

Dee emerged in the corner of my mind, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He had been napping the entire time that we had been in the mall so far. He spent a lot of time taking naps recently. _'We're here to buy a birthday present for Al, right? His birthday is tomorrow.'_

I nodded, forgetting that since Dee was inside my head, there was no actual need to make certain gestures or anything because he could see what I'm thinking. _'I'm thinking of getting him that new art set that came out; the really expensive one.' _I told him. Whenever Al flipped through art magazines or passed by art shops, I caught him staring at this one particular art set that apparently had many advanced and professional tools.

_'How are you going to afford it?'_ Dee asked, tilting his head to the side curiously. He was always more oblivious, so I figured that he wouldn't have noticed me… working to pocket a bit of extra cash every once in a while.

_'I've been saving my lunch money.'_ I said. It wasn't a lie. Technically, I could have used the money I pick-pocketed every month or so for lunch, I just chose not to. Besides, what else could someone do on a lonely, crowded bus, with their only friends being a Swiss army knife and someone's lovely back pocket?

Debauchery snickered. _'Yeah… Lunch money.'_ He smirked.

I glared at him mentally. The whole shenanigan had been his idea from the very beginning, and one time turned into two, and soon enough, I did it nearly every month. He knew my dad never sent enough money to cover all the expenses we had. It's one of the reason I hate him. Sure, his company pays him enough to travel around the world and do all sorts of crazy jobs, but never enough to support his two sons. What a load of bull. _'Shut up, Debauchery,'_ I snapped, more edgy than usual. It must be because of the awful environment I was in at the current time.

He scoffed, and then grinned._ 'Geez Edo, are you on your period or something?' _He asked, obviously just to get under my skin.

I glared at him. _'I'm not a fucking girl, Debauchery, I don't PMS.' _I replied angrily. When he said stuff like that, it was a whole lot different than dealing with people constantly making jibes about my height. Generally, it's an untouched subject in my mind, and I know since Debauchery would just turn everything I say into some dirty joke when he got like this, I referred to opt for quick dismissive replies.

He just continued grinning. _'Why get him art supplies when you could get him something else? Even better! Something every normal growing boy needs, which kind of excludes you, but whatever.' _He replied, his smile looking as if it had just gotten just a little more dangerous.

I raised my eyebrow at him, not getting what he was hinting at. _'What?'_ I asked. I soon realized that I was still standing in front of the art shop like some indecisive idiot who's facial expressions repeatedly changed, and moved to sit on the bench next to the door. That had been a good idea.

Debauchery's look became very suspicious as he leaned forward and whispered, _'What all the big kids have. You know …' _His voice dropped and I barely caught his last few sentences. Just barely.

My eyes widened and my face flushed a bright red. If I hadn't had sat down earlier, I probably would have fallen straight onto my face. I reached out for the armrest of the bench, to steady myself. "NO!" I yelled out loud. I immediately covered my mouth and sent apologetic looks to nearby shoppers who had directed their attention towards me. "Sorry… It's nothing…" I stammered, crimson still coloring my cheeks_. 'Debauchery!'_ I scolded. _'I'm not getting Al… _that _for his birthday! Hell, I wouldn't even buy _myself_ that! We're both still young!'_ I screamed, frustration laced in my inner voice.

He began to argue playfully; more concerned about making me upset than actually convincing me. _'But it would be good for him!' _He replied.

_'NO.'_ I said. I effectively ended our conversation before any further embarrassment came along and shut him out.

I stood up and entered the professional art store, glancing around hopefully. Out of all the stores that I had spent nearly an hour calling up yesterday, this was the only one that supposedly still carried just one more of this magical art kit that Al desired. A happy young man jumped out from behind one of the shops, but other than him, the shop was deserted. He was young, and his hair was an odd turquoise color, but I've already seen so many different hair colors that it didn't faze me in the slightest. What did irk me, however, was that despite being a worker in an art store, he wore a purple apron with what appeared to be flour stains on the front.

"Hello there!" He chirped. "I had just put on the 'Out to Lunch' sign on the window, but I suppose I could take one more person."

I just nodded, not really knowing how to respond to him.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" He asked, eyes glowing with excitement.

"Yeah," I said, "some special, expensive art kit that my brother's been eyeing. It's sold out practically everywhere else. I called yesterday, and was told that this store still had one left." I gave him a hopeful look.

"Oh! I know exactly what you're talking about!" He sped behind the counter and pulled out a slim, large wooden case. It resembled a briefcase, with the way it was presented, but it didn't look so professional.

"That's it," I smiled, vaguely remembering the picture from the magazine. "How much is it?" I asked.

"Well, because this particular kit not only includes an extensive drawing set, but also wonderful professional paints and oil pastels sets, it's more expensive than our other sets. Around seven hundred dollars or so?" He suggested.

My mouth dropped. It was definitely a lot more pricy than I could have ever imagined. I came to the shop prepared with TWO hundred dollars, not nearly enough. He picked up on my shocked expression soon enough.

"Well," He said, "we could always do some monthly payments. How about one hundred dollars a month until you pay it off?" he asked.

I shrugged slowly, the idea lulling around in my head for a bit. It would probably be better than getting Al something cheap that he doesn't even want. He wouldn't voice his disappointment, but it would always be there in his expression. I frowned. "But Al's birthday is tomorrow. I need to buy it today." I deadpanned. There was no way I was going to be seven months late to giving Al a birthday gift. He deserves the best.

He just smiled brightly. "Well, you can take the gift today, and pay me back over the months. I am the owner of this shop, so it is my decision. Besides, you seem like a good kid, and you probably don't like the idea of being in somebody's debt, so I'm sure you'll pay me back."

I just stared at him. He for the most part judged my character rightly. I don't like being in people's debt, and for the most part, I am a good kid that would pay him back. "That could work…" I finally said, a small smile tugging at my lips. I could always find ways to get enough money repay him. "I'll just give you a hundred now, is that alright?"

He nodded. "Yup! That's just perfect!" He looked me over again, this time, surprise ran across his face. "Wow," he said, "You look… Do you happen to know someone named Van Hoenheim?" He asked.

My eyes widened slightly. "Y-yeah. He's my father. Do you know him?"

He grinned. "Of course I know him! He was my best friend's husband! Trisha Elric is your mom, right?"

"Wait a second…" I started. "Mom was _your_ best friend? When? How come Al and I _never_ met you?" I asked, questions just immediately forming in my head.

He scratched the side of his head. "Well… long story short, we got into an argument on her wedding day… about Hoenheim…. And we just stopped talking after that. It took me a while to get back on my feet, but here I am!" He shook his black bangs out of his face. "By the way, I'm Jesse. And you are?" He stretched out his hand towards my direction.

I leaned slightly over the counter, taking his hand. "Edward Elric. And my brother is Alphonse Elric. After our mom… passed… we decided that we were going to use her last name. I wouldn't allow Al or myself to even carry that bastard's name." I glanced down, bangs covering my face.

His eyes dulled, shocked, but also saddened. "Trisha… She's dead?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly.

I gasped under my breath. I had heard him when he said that they never talked after that, but I assumed that someone had told him. I felt angry, especially at Hoenheim, for not even bothering to tell mom's best friends that she had died because of _his_ careless mistake.

"Yeah…" My voice was soft, something that surprised even me. "Hoenheim was home for once, and Al and I were playing outside. Mom had told us it was going to rain soon, and we shouldn't go out, but we insisted until she finally gave in." I took in a deep, wavering breath, my voice threatening to crack. "He was doing an experiment in the kitchen, I have no idea what he was testing, but mom was making lunch at the time. I waved to her through the kitchen window, and saw her send Hoenheim out to the garage to get something. She smiled back at us, we were so close to her. Then there was an explosion… and her face… I saw her…. Her whole body… it…the entire house…. Flames…." I couldn't finish. I didn't know what to say. My body shook, sobs racking through as I shuddered. I wasn't known to have mental breakdowns…. unless I was talking about _that _day. My eyes were fearful, and Jesse rounded the corner, mirroring my exact look, but comforted me none-the-less. "We watched… me and Al… Then we… and Hoenheim lost everything. He spends all year traveling just to make money… for us… but I can't forgive him… ever. He _killed_ my mother. And now we live in a small apartment…. And Al…"

He just held me. "If you need anything…" he said. "I'm right here." He's an adult, I reminded myself. He's supposed to be stronger, stronger than me. If he was sad, or on the verge of crying like I was, he didn't show it.

I only nodded. He silently packed the kit, and I thanked him in my mind for wrapping it also. Before I left, I saw him mouth a few more comforting words.

"I'll be here, Edward. For both you and Al."

And that alone made me feel better.

* * *

><p>I ended up walking home. My head was foggy, and I could barely think straight. I somehow ended up in that damn park again. I plopped down on one of the sickly green benches, absolutely exhausted. I closed my eyes just for a few minutes, just to cool myself off and chill. It felt nice to just relax. The wind rustled through my braid, and my body felt tranquil.<p>

The next time I opened my eyes, it was almost pitch black out. I let my vision slowly get used to the sudden change in light. I must have fallen asleep, but I don't remember ever drifting off. _I have to get home and… Shoot! Al's probably worried sick,_ I thought. I picked up the kit and rushed home, the rest of the world blurring around me. I lifted my wristwatch to my face, squinting as I read the two hands.

Twelve o' four.

I am so dead.

As I rounded the corner, my eyes were blinded with red flashing lights and a large white van. Panic alerted my brain that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. I looked around frantically, hoping to find clues as to what the hell was going on. I started running, my mind was racing, and my thoughts were too jumbled to make any sense of them.

My fears were confirmed when I saw Winry standing next to Aunt Pinako, tears streaming down her face. She dashed up to me.

"ED!" She yelled, and I flinched back, expecting something that looked suspiciously like a wrench to come flying at me. "Where have you been!" She was furious, and there was an underlying tone in her voice that I just couldn't recognize.

"W-winry…" I stuttered. "What happened? Where's Al? Is he okay? Oh please don't tell me he…" I trailed off, my face paling considerably.

She stopped me. "Ed…. It's your father… _and_ Al."

I tried for a few seconds to get more information out of her, but she was sobbing too hard. My whole body shook with fear. Aunt Pinako walked up beside us, but I barely noticed. I was sure that Al was the one in that hospital van, and I had a terrifying suspicion of why.

"Ed," she said calmly. "Your father… there was an accident during one of his experiments, and he… died in it." Shock overcame my face, but I knew she wasn't done yet. I could sense the hidden worry under her solemn voice. "However, that's not important right now. Al was the one that picked up the phone when they called… he had another attack."

* * *

><p><strong>Well…. This is just a filler because there's some information and Hoenheim's death that I needed to get out of the way. Please excuse this sorry excuse of a chapter. I honestly hated it, but I promise that future chapters will be better than this crap. <strong>

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed before, and to the people who actually attempted to read this sorry excuse for literature. Review if you want, but if you find this chapter awful, I don't blame you if you don't. T-T oh yeah, and please, if you can, point out any errors you spot. **

**Adorkablelinkk**


	5. Authors Notice

Hey guys!

For the people who do come across this story, and do follow it, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting for an update all this time. It's been practically two years since I've touched it, wow! Anyway, as you might have noticed, I have changed my name, but don't you worry, I'm still the same old me. Hopefully, though, I've matured a lot since that time, in both personality and writing style. I definitely look forward to continuing this story, and I'll do my best not to disappoint.

With love,

Adorkablelinkk


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